🚀 go-pugleaf

Excerpts from netnews.comp.lang.postscript: 6-Mar-91 Re: How can I tell
if a fil.. Vidiot@vidiot.UUCP (2017)


> Not quite.  The %! on the first line is required by the LaserWriter
> printers and compatibles.  It is NOT part of the definition for EPSF or
> EPSI.  If that special comment line is missing, the LaserWriter series
> printers will change to Diablo emulation mode and the PostScript program
> will print out as a source listing, i.e., the PostScript code will print
> as normal text and the program will not run.

No, really.  It's just a comment to the LaserWriter.  Trust me!  I use
kermit to have close and personal conversations with my LaserWriters all
the time and never bother typing in the PostScript magic characters.

What you are most likely seeing is the effect of some nice spooling
software.  Many spoolers will wrap non-PostScript files with a simple
PostScript program which causes the file to be shown line-by-line on the
page (as though you were using a very slow and expensive line printer. 
;-)  What kind of system are you using?  How are your printers attached?

If you do have some way of getting your PostScript engine to perform
automatic mode changing, I'd be interested in learning more about it. 
How is the printer changed from Diablo emulation mode back to the normal
PostScript interpreter?  How does it know that the Diablo document is
finished printing?  Perhaps the mode switching is a feature of some
custom PostScript interpreter which must be downloaded to the printer
every time it is powered up?

Joe Jackson
Distributed Workstation Services
Carnegie Mellon University

Internet:	jj1h+@andrew.cmu.edu
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